Find out how popular the last name Torgersen is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Torgersen.

Torgersen, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Torgersen surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Torgersen in America

Torgersen is the 25503rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Torgersen surname appeared 969 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Torgersen.

We can also compare 2010 data for Torgersen to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Torgersen

The surname TORGERSEN originated in Norway. It is derived from the Old Norse words "Thorgeirr" and "sen", with the former meaning "Thor's spear" and the latter being a common Norse patronymic suffix. The name's earliest known spelling was "Thorgerssen".

TORGERSEN was initially concentrated in the western and central regions of Norway, particularly in areas like Sogn og Fjordane and Oppland. It first appeared in written records during the 13th century, with one of the earliest known instances being a reference to a man named Thorgeirr Thorgerssen in the Icelandic Sturlunga Saga from around 1280.

In the 16th century, the TORGERSEN name was found in several historic Norwegian documents, including land deeds and census records. One notable bearer was Torgersen Guttormsson, a farmer and landowner from Voss, who was born around 1520 and died in 1587.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the TORGERSEN name spread to other parts of Norway and began appearing in church records and local histories. A few noteworthy individuals from this period include Hans Torgersen (1623-1701), a merchant and ship owner from Bergen, and Guri Torgersen (1687-1758), a prominent landowner and farmer from Lom.

As Norway experienced significant emigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many TORGERSENS left for North America, particularly to the United States and Canada. One of the earliest known emigrants was Ole Torgersen, who arrived in Wisconsin from Vest-Agder, Norway, in 1845.

Other notable TORGERSENS throughout history include:

1. Torger Torgersen (1858-1925), a Norwegian-American author and journalist who co-founded the newspaper Skandinaven in Chicago.

2. Leif Torgersen (1892-1982), a Norwegian-American architect and designer who worked on several notable projects in Seattle.

3. Knut Torgersen (1900-1984), a Norwegian businessperson and industrialist who co-founded the Torgersen Group, a major shipping and logistics company.

4. Theodor Torgersen (1912-1994), a Norwegian-American biochemist and professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

5. Liv Torgersen (born 1976), a Norwegian novelist and children's book author known for works like "Øynene" and "Natt og noen ganger dag".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Torgersen

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Torgersen.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Torgersen was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Torgersen has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Torgersen was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Torgersen, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!